"Hey, Gem, did you miss me?"

Nathan had such a gentle smile on his face that I knew it had to be Gemma without looking at the caller ID.

He used to be the brother who loved me more than anything and would give me the whole world if he could. But now, all his attention was on that manipulative orphan he'd taken in.

"Hang on, Gem. I'll come home as soon as I wrap things up here… Got it. I promise I'll take care of myself," he rambled on.

Whatever Gemma said next darkened his expression, and his voice turned cold. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Rosanne admits she stole your thesis. If she won't own up to it, I'll beat it out of her.

"There, there. Don't be upset now. Stay home until I get back. Things aren't safe outside right now, and if you ever have to go out, let me know, alright?"

A hollow, bitter laugh escaped me as I listened to Nathan's soft reassurances. He was my biological brother, yet he'd never believed a word I said and trusted some outsider he'd picked off the street.

Gemma had plagiarized my thesis, but why wouldn't Nathan believe me?

"Oh, and you have to come on Sunday night, Nathan. I have a surprise for you." Her sickly-sweet voice rang through the phone.

I could feel the alarm go off in my chest and desperately shook his arm. My voice sounded full of panic as I screamed, "No! Don't go, Nathan! Gemma… she's a lunatic!"

But Nathan could never feel my existence. He smiled at the phone with that same affection in his eyes. "Don't worry. I promise to finish up here as soon as I can and come home to you."

When he ended the call, he noticed Lawrence still frowning and laughed.

"Fine, Lawrence. I'll check the victim again and see if there are new clues. Don't worry about it."

Lawrence reached for him and said, "Wait a minute. I tried calling Rosie, but she didn't pick up. You try calling her. She'll answer if it's you."

Nathan waved him off. "I don't have time to find out where she is. I'm busy."

Seeing how adamant he was, Lawrence sighed in defeat.

After returning to the autopsy room, Nathan shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared himself before putting on his gloves. Then, he leaned in to examine my body.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he grabbed my wrist.

My heart leapt. Was this it? Had he finally realized it was me?

On the inside of my wrist was a faint crescent-shaped scar. It was a mark from the time we got lost in the hills as kids.

I'd scraped my wrist on a branch, and he'd nearly cried in distress. After wrapping my wound with a hankie, he'd carried me all the way home on his back.

That scar had faded over the years, but to me, it still held a significant memory. I was sure that he'd recognize me if he saw it.

Just then, his phone rang with a call from Aunt Lorraine. "Nathan, is Rosie with you? I've been trying to call and text her, but she won't answer any of it."

Aunt Lorraine was the only family member who still cared about me after our parents died. Thinking of her made my heart ache.

Nathan was instantly annoyed. "Just let her be, Aunt Lorraine. She's been acting more defiant and disrespectful by the day."

"What happened between the two of you again?" Aunt Lorraine tried to talk some sense into him. "Come on, she worries about your bad stomach and trained as a nutritionist just to learn and cook for you. Gemma is an outsider, no matter what—"

"Don't even try to compare them, Aunt Lorraine. Rosanne's nothing but trouble and always lies. And now, she's pulling this stunt and probably hiding somewhere. I'm not falling for it," Nathan said in disdain, cutting her off.

"I'm busy, Aunt Lorraine. Let's talk later."

With that, he hung up before she could answer.

Perhaps hearing my name again annoyed him because he barely glanced at the scar on my wrist before ripping off his gloves in frustration.

Just like that, he missed his chance to identify my body.

Suddenly, loud noises erupted in the hall.

He stepped outside and saw a high-schooler, his eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Please help me find my sister. She's missing…" the teen said, breaking down.

Nathan's expression grew solemn. "Calm down, kid. Tell me exactly what happened."

The teen choked back tears as he said, "My sister's 21. She's been working out of town, but I haven't heard from her in days.

"She's all I have left. I'm begging you… You have to find her!"

The more he spoke, the more frantic and desperate he grew. I could feel my heart twist with a bitter ache.

His sister had been gone two days, and he was frantic with worry.

Meanwhile, I'd been missing for four days, and Nathan was convinced I was just playing games.

I closed my eyes, only to realize my tears had run dry.

Nathan, my older brother who used to love me more than anything, was gone.

Nathan exchanged a look with Lawrence.

Looking at the wailing teen in front of him, Nathan pressed his lips into a thin line. He was unsure of how to break what could very well be devastating news.

"We just found an unidentified female body nearly…" he said at last, his voice low and hesitant.

The teen's knees buckled. He collapsed over as he murmured, "No… It can't be…"

Someone helped him up to record a formal statement when his phone rang.

A cheerful female voice chirped through the speaker. "Max, where are you? I took a two-day bus home to surprise you, but why aren't you home?"

"Ava! I thought something happened to you! I'm coming home right now!" He wiped his tears and swiftly turned to thank Nathan and Lawrence before bolting off.

Nathan and I both exhaled in relief.

As they tried to dig deeper into the case, every detective who'd been dispatched returned empty-handed. None of them brought back a single useful clue.

Nathan's frown deepened as the clock ticked by. The case wasn't moving forward at all.

…

Two days later, Lawrence came to him, looking visibly uneasy. "Nathan, I believe something's wrong. Rosie's been missing for days now, and that's not like her."

Already on edge from the lack of progress, Nathan flared at the mention of my name.

"I told you she's fine, Lawrence. I don't have time for her drama. I've got to be there for Gemma, and at this rate, I'll barely make it to her graduation."

Lawrence lost his patience, too. "Stop being so stubborn, Nathan! If Rosie's in trouble and you won't lift a finger, I will!"

Nathan waved him off dismissively. "Whatever! I don't care if she ever comes back. That is one less headache for me."

A string of curses exploded behind him as Lawrence yelled, "Where the hell did I go wrong with you?"

Hiding in the corner, I shed tears watching Lawrence defend me.

When would Nathan finally realize I was deep in trouble, and that something was really wrong?

As soon as he stepped out, his phone rang.

"Hi, are you Rosanne Slade's brother? I'm her thesis advisor. There's a small issue with her paper, and I haven't been able to reach her. Could you—"

"How would I know where she ran off to? Don't bother me! It's not my problem whether she's alive or dead!" Nathan said, cutting her off before she could finish.

With that, he hung up and tapped on the messaging app. Then, he fired off a furious text.

"Have you had enough? If you don't show up for Gemma's graduation, I swear I'll make you regret it!"

My tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face.

I did show up, Nathan. I'd been lying in the autopsy room for two days now, so when would you finally realize that was me? When would you finally listen to Lawrence?

Just then, Gemma entered the office with a lunchbox.

Nathan's eyes lit up as he rushed forward to greet her. "Gemma, why are you here?"

"I was worried about you, so I brought your favorite," she said, flashing a sweet smile.

Nathan dotingly ruffled her hair. "You're the best, unlike that ungrateful brat who does nothing but cause trouble."

Suddenly, Gemma's eyes welled up with tears, and he immediately panicked. "What's wrong? Who hurt you?"

She bit her lip, feigning a wounded look. "I ran into Rosie on my way here and tried to say hi, but she shoved past me. Then, she threw this locket at me and said she never wanted anything to do with you again."

Nathan looked down, and sure enough, her knee was red and swollen.

Reaching for his phone to give me a call, he cursed, "That ungrateful brat!"

Lawrence noticed the locket and stepped forward to snatch it. "Did you just say Rosie gave you this?"

Gemma nodded, startled by his reaction, and shrank behind Nathan.

"I told you she's fine, Lawrence. And she laid a hand on Gemma, so I'm going to make sure she pays for it."

But Lawrence grimly shook his head. "No, this doesn't make sense. Rosie has worn this locket every day since she was a kid. It was a keepsake from your mom, so she cherishes it a lot and will never throw it away."

But Nathan turned on the loudspeaker and said, "Watch. She'll pick up."

This time, even I didn't expect the call to go through.

Nathan immediately launched into a tirade. "Rosanne, you'd better get here now! How dare you lay a hand on Gemma? You must be asking for death!"

His roars were met with silence before a voice came through the line.

"Nathan, we found this phone at the crime scene."